Chapter 17 of 74 · Book 6, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride

Chapter 17 — Two goddesses

Book: The Eye of the Bedlam Bride · Part: Havana · Previous: Chapter 16 — Ogun · Next: Chapter 18 — Club Vanquisher · Floor: Floor 8 — The Ghosts of Earth · Series: the series

Opening

“Holy shit, sister,” I said as we backed away from the form of the first goddess.

Summary

Two deities, two boosts: Yemaya makes healing free of mana and cooldown; Eileithyia makes damage to female opponents a quarter and female party melee 500% ('Girl power, bitches!'). Yemaya rises from the fountain — a dark-skinned siren, gills and pointed ears (Carl thinks of Samantha and Signet), water flowing from her breasts, twin tails arched into a heart: 'She's the Starbucks logo!' Level 250, a locked deity not sponsored this season, 'a retainer of Eileithyia', inside her own temple ('watch the fuck out'); once goddess of all waters, queen of love and bringer of life, forgotten by all but her friend. Eileithyia forms on the shattered tiles — no soul armour, a five-foot hairy blue-and-black alien with six eyes in a V, four arms, a long thin neck, a pregnant belly, a blood-red toga and a laurel: Goddess of Childbirth and Female Pain, She Who Eases Pain, the one holding the grieving mother's hand, 'not known to be someone who seeks the throne, which likely makes her one of the most qualified'. Sponsored by Huanxin Jinx of the Grixist Swarm, CEO of Icon Industries — a name Carl has never heard. Ogun shed blood in Yemaya's temple; 'the council' will hear. Paz's card vanishes into Ines's inventory ('He's not here anymore'); Carl: we need to tear that card. A slug cries 'Fuck the gods!' and the floor swallows it. Yemaya on Asojano: 'He did it on purpose […] Strand himself here'; a healer can fix the pox. Gifts: The Thief, a mythical mystic card for Donut (steal a card from someone else, not consumable — all five card kinds now), one for Ines, a recruiting pitch for Donut's worship. Bomo's wish — 'The Sledge. I miss my friend.' 'Larracos' 'It is done' — and Bomo blinks to the ninth floor with the spell they needed for the stairwell. Eileithyia: a floor boon (Protection from Spiritual Possession, healing, constitution) and a quest for a worshipper of another god: kill five spiders in her name every day. Then, in a deity message the system cannot monitor: the quest is a cover for messages and boons; when Odette reaches orbit she will offer to be the Faction Wars Adjutant, believing Carl cannot win the vote to turn team protections off and really wants them on for every crawler — accept, and Eileithyia will deliver the votes to turn them off; 'They will never allow the crawlers to be safe'; she will clear the Crown of the Sepsis Whore, a deity in her temple outranking the AI; tell no one, not the cat, not Odette or Mordecai, not by the bathroom system; Katia knows of the deal; break it and everyone Carl loved is 'pounded into dirt'; keep it and he survives to the twelfth floor, where Carl, Katia and the cat help her claim the Celestial Throne, then a generous exit. 'Ask Mordecai about me.' Agreement is announced by asking to get the slugpox cured. Carl copies it all to his secret notepad and says the words. A ghommid NPC weeps at Yemaya's feet; both goddesses fade; Sister Ines loots Anton and walks out into Havana without a word; the tombs have become shops. 'I told you so, Carl.' A message to Katia: meet in the saferoom, say nothing to Donut.

Characters

• Carl — Takes a goddess's secret deal for Katia's and Donut's sake; scratches his left arm.
• Princess Donut — The Thief; 'much better than all the other ones we've met so far.'
• Yemaya — A siren in her fountain; a retainer of her friend; sends Bomo to Larracos.
• Eileithyia — Kind by description, sponsored by Huanxin Jinx, dealing for the throne in a hidden channel.
• Huanxin Jinx — Of the Grixist Swarm, CEO of Icon Industries; Eileithyia's sponsor — a name from Odette's old crawl.
• Bomo — 'Easier than Tetris'; wishes for the Sledge and is gone.
• Sister Ines — Pockets Paz's card, loots Anton, leaves.
• Katia Grim — 'She knows of this deal.'
• Odette — Will offer to be Adjutant, says the goddess.
• Mongo — Has to chew now.

Locations

• The Colón cemetery — Yemaya's temple; a cemetery whose tombs are now shops.

Motifs

• The orishas — Yemaya restored; 'the council' to hear of Ogun's insult.
• The gods — Retainers, locked deities, temple rules; deity messages the system cannot read.
• Sponsorship — A sponsor appearing as herself, without soul armour.
• The Celestial Ascendency — Eileithyia's bargain: Adjutant, votes, the twelfth floor.
• Faction Wars — Team protections: Carl's real wish named by a goddess.
• The Crown of the Sepsis Whore — 'I will graciously clear this issue.'
• T'Ghee totems — The Thief; a person as a card in a nun's inventory.
• Secrets — A deal Carl cannot tell Donut; the secret notepad.
• SlugPox — 'Fuck the gods!'; a hatchet slug.